Columbus Blue Jackets Shut Out 2-0 by Tampa Bay Lightning
The Columbus Blue Jackets’ 2-0 loss to the Lightning on Thursday was their second defeat of the young season. The CBJ’s record now sits at 5-2-0 and they remain in the top three of the Metro Division.
Tampa Bay was able to find a way to keep the Columbus Blue Jackets off the board as they never really found a way to get going. The Jackets outshooting the Lightning didn’t matter at the end of the day.
Andrei Vasilevskiy didn’t care that shots were 43 to 21 in favor of Columbus. He was too strong from start to finish.
After the game, Torts admitted the Lightning were a fast team, and not being able to figure out Vasilevskiy killed them.
Torts also said, “Our power play has to give us a goal,” which, of course, it didn’t. The power play is becoming a huge concern early in the season.
An 0/3 night leaves the team still with only one power play goal on the season, and mightily struggling the past few games in particular. The Blue Jackets are 1/19 on the season on the advantage for an embarrassing 5.3%. That is third-worst in the league, only ahead of the Islanders and Ducks.
Related Story: Blue Jackets Miss Power Play Opportunity
Better Team Won
Tampa Bay is currently sitting at the top of the NHL with 13 points, so it’s not like the Jackets just laid an egg against a bad team. Still, the CBJ entered the night first in the Metro Division, which means they need to at least get on the board in a game like this.
Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev found a way to beat Sergei Bobrovsky twice in this game. A little more salt went into the CBJ’s wounds when it was revealed that his two goals were his first two of not only his season, but also his career.
Aside from these two goals, Bob was Bob. It was good that he and the defense were able to limit the Lightning’s chances as the Bolts only recorded 21 shots on goal, the identical amount he faced in the 5-4 win over Minnesota last week.
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This loss obviously doesn’t feel great, but the Jackets are still 5-2-0. There’s no need to freak out, but hopefully the Jackets can find a way to learn from it and move on. Things don’t get easier immediately, though. The Los Angeles Kings are up next on Saturday.